Church of England

The Church of England is a Protestant church in England that is the mother of worldwide Anglicanism. Founded in 1534 after King Henry VIII of England split from the Catholic church, the Church of England renounced the Pope's authority, instead viewing the King of England as its religious head. The church believes itself to be both Protestant and Catholic, as it sees itself as a part of the universal church of Jesus in unbroken continuity with the early church, but it also sees itself agreeing with many of the points of the Protestant Reformation. Eventually, the Church persecuted Catholics across the British Isles with the Penal Laws, effectively making the Church of England the state religion of England and persecuting non-conforming Protestants and all other religions. However, religious tolerance grew after papal recognition of King George III of Britain in 1766, and the Church of England would remain a major religion in England. In 2010, the church had 26,000,000 baptized members.